Texas Rangers Blog

Rangers option Michael Kirkman to minors, clear way for Robbie Ross to make team

SURPRISE, Ariz. – LHP Robbie Ross is 22, has a total of six games above Class A and it appears he’s about to be the lefty in the Rangers’ bullpen.

Rangers manager Ron Washington acknowledged Saturday that the club had met to discuss its level of comfort at having Ross jump to the majors. The team’s officials determined pitching out of the bullpen would not impede Ross’ progress.

Washington did not commit to Ross publicly on Saturday, but the signs continue to point towards the young lefty making the team. On Saturday, the Rangers optioned LHP Michael Kirkman to the minors. Entering spring training, Kirkman was the leading candidate to win the job.

The move leaves Ross and veteran Neal Cotts as the only lefties still in camp. Cotts was signed to a minor league contract – without a major league spring training invite – in mid-February. He has since been asked to work regularly with the big league team, but he’s not pitched in two years due to injuries hip and arm injuries. It’s likely he’d need some time at Triple-A to continue to refine his stuff.

The biggest question about Ross,who has been a starter his entire professional career, is how quickly he can recover from an outing. He is not scheduled to pitch in back-to-back games, which is usually the rite of passage for a reliever, but Washington said he would not be concerned about bringing Ross into back-to-back games if he was coming off an outing of one inning or less.

“He’s got a very resilient arm,” Washington said.

Ross pitched two scoreless innings on Friday at Colorado. Cotts was scheduled to pitch Saturday night at Cleveland.